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Two questions immediately arise upon confronting the title “Concerning the Spiritual in Photography”: “What is spiritual?” and “Why photography?” The word “spiritual”, much like the words “soul” and “moral”, carries with it a connotation irrepressibly vague and irresistibly personal. This terminology is always understandable in one’s own definition but fascination arises by what others may take it to mean. In this manner, the medium of photography can serve two functions as a record of evidence: of elements of the “spiritual” that have been captured and documented, or of the photographer’s effort in…
Scenario # 1: a dingy warehouse, somewhere behind the Andrews T station. The space is over-run by performance artists of every shape and size. The floor is covered with maybe half a foot of sand, wall to wall, and every step involves me in my own little navigational performance. This is TEST, an invitational bi-monthly performance event held at Andrews Square Studio. Scenario # 2: a university museum, tucked up on a little hill. Inside, brightly colored plastic beach toys are being sold off to the very loud sounds of Asian techno-pop.…
By WESLEY PIERCE “Discover cutting-edge work in SMFA alumni show” the museum states in its promotional material – as if the school across the street is nurturing some sort of present day avant-garde phenomenon. In all actuality this year’s exhibition is more of a discovery of the failings of arts education than anything “cutting-edge.” Exhibiting little skill and even less conviction, these eleven artists make a convincing case for a return to traditional learning and practice in contemporary art production. The traditional apprenticeship model is, however, the reason that we find ourselves…
By KANARINKA New media artwork, activism and organization is happening in Boston despite lack of funding, lack of alternative and multi-use spaces and lack of city and state support. It’s not just once every two years at the Boston CyberArts festival; it’s not just at the MIT Media Lab. Growing numbers of new media artists, non-profit organizations and art collectives have sprung up in the city at the same time as ideas inspired by digital media and software have begun to influence the work of artists in the non-digital realm. The best…
It’s rare to find a entirely cohesive work—that is to say, one where the medium, the subject, and the work’s presentation all work together for a synergistic product that is resistant to any knit-picking art student. But for a work that’s been in the making (from early conception to distribution) for about four decades, this kind of solid construction shouldn’t be absent. Pat O’Neill, visual effects veteran and Cannes documentary prize winner (Water and Power, 1990) described the beginnings of his work, The Decay of Fiction, like this, “I scribbled the words…
By THE NEWS EDITOR Print this article In case you haven’t heard, the MFA is reported to have loaned twenty-one Monet canvases (over half of its permanent collection) to the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas in exchange for a consideration of nearly $1 million for a period of seven and half months. In the words of MFA director Malcom Rogers, “This is a win-win situation. I think people are extraordinarily priggish and narrow-minded if they don’t understand this.” * Is that the sound of the restoration department I hear gearing up?…
By SARA SEINBERG Print this article k’vetsh… the all-queer all-gender open mic cabaret mayhem has temporarily relocated from the delightful, but closed, Oni Gallery to the glamorous theater at the YMCA in central square. Each month there are two featured performers who hail from the genres of writing, film, music, video, performance art and philosophical bullshit (if delivered with grace and aplomb). The event started in San Francisco in late 1996 when I was young and irresponsible and only had like 13 tattoos. Since then, I have relocated to Boston, changed format, (there…
By THE NEWS EDITOR Print this article In other money…uh-um…I mean museum news, the Museum of Fine Arts has recently announced an exhibition of…you guessed it…cars owned by rich people. In spring [2005], the MFA will fill its second-floor galleries with classic cars owned by fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Speed, Style and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection will feature [15] rare European cars built between the [1930]s and ‘[60]s. Is this what they meant when they said they were interested in supporting living artists? Oh, they must have meant they were interested in supporting living…